auletris means A courtesan or prostitute in Ancient Greece who played the flute to provide entertainment. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
auletris is pronounced /ɔːˈliːtɹɪs/.
Why “auletris” is a great word
AULETRIS — [Noun] A professional female flute-player in Ancient Greece, whose performance was inextricably linked to erotic entertainment and prostitution. From Ancient Greek αὐλητρίς (aulētrís, "female flute-player"), the feminine form of αὐλητής (aulētḗs, "flute-player"), from αὐλός (aulós, "flute, pipe"). Unlike "hetaira," which denotes a high-status companion celebrated for intellectual converse, or the gender-neutral "aulos-player," which implies mere musical vocation, auletris collapses the distinction between artisan and commodity, binding artistic skill to sexual availability. She is the reedy melody threading through the symposium's haze, the skilled fingers on the twin pipes, and the sidelong glance from behind the instrument—a life where art and transaction were inseparable, and the melody served always as prelude.
noun
- A courtesan or prostitute in Ancient Greece who played the flute to provide entertainment.“To equate auletrides with prostitutes tout court is an overgeneralisation, which in turn impacts on the reading of the imagery.”